Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP)
Cohen et al. (2011) developed the GASP to measure individual differences in guilt and shame proneness. 16 items, 4 subscales.
What Is the GASP?
The Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP) measures how people respond to personal transgressions — whether they feel guilt (about behavior) or shame (about self). Understanding this difference matters because guilt tends to motivate repair, while shame often leads to withdrawal.
Scale Structure
The GASP contains 16 scenarios across 4 subscales:
- Guilt-NBE (items 1-4): Feeling bad about specific negative behaviors
- Guilt-Repair (items 5-8): Taking action to fix mistakes
- Shame-NSE (items 9-12): Negative self-evaluation after failure
- Shame-Withdrawal (items 13-16): Avoiding others after feeling bad
Scoring
Each subscale scored 1-4. Higher scores indicate stronger tendencies.
Reference
Cohen, T. R., Wolf, S. T., Panter, A. T., & Insko, C. A. (2011). Introducing the GASP scale: A new measure of guilt and shame proneness. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology*, 100(5), 947–966.
⚠️ Research tool, not a clinical diagnosis.
Scoring Guide
4 subscales: Guilt-NBE (items 1-4), Guilt-Repair (items 5-8), Shame-NSE (items 9-12), Shame-Withdrawal (items 13-16). Each subscale scored 4-16, higher scores indicate stronger tendencies.Result Interpretation
After completing the 16 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Dimension breakdown — separate scores for each sub-scale
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.